Back to work? Michigan hopeful for Isaiah Livers' return at Illinois

Updated January 10, 2019 at 4:18 PM;Posted January 9, 2019 at 3:47 PM

Michigan forward Isaiah Livers (4) looks on during the first half of their college basketball game against South Carolina at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Saturday, December 8, 2018. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com) (Mike Mulholland | mmulholl@mlive.com)

ANN ARBOR -- Michigan could have its sixth man back when it hits the road for the first time in more than a month.

Sophomore Isaiah Livers practiced yesterday, according to head coach John Beilein, after missing the last two games as a result of back spasms. As for whether Livers will be able to play at Illinois on Thursday, Beilein said Wednesday, "We're very hopeful."

It was a surprise to Beilein when back soreness kept Livers out of last Thursday’s game against Penn State. Livers received treatment and participated in pregame warmups before Sunday’s matchup with Indiana, though he was clearly limited, not giving maximum effort as he went through layup lines.

"He was much different yesterday in practice," Beilein said. "I can't tell you he's going to go, but it seemed like he was out of a lot of the pain he was in before."

Johns performed well when forced into action. Beilein compared it to Muhammad-Ali Abdur-Rahkman's freshman season in 2014-15, when injuries opened the door for the unheralded freshman guard to the see regular minutes. "While he didn't have a great freshman year, it led him to great junior and senior years," Beilein said. "There's always good effect from that. Unfortunately for Isaiah it wasn't good."

The 6-foot-7 Livers is averaging 21.5 minutes per game, five more than any other reserve. He does a little bit of everything for Michigan, scoring inside and out while defending multiple positions. He'd scored 17 and 11 points, respectively, in the two games before his injury and has made multiple 3-pointers in seven of his 13 games.

This is the first injury Michigan has dealt with this season. The rest of the roster appears healthy. Beilein was asked if starting point Zavier Simpson was OK. “A little bit of a tweak to his foot, but he practiced yesterday,” Beilein said. Simpson could be seen stretching his right foot, as if in some discomfort, in the final minute of Sunday’s win.